Over the years, you may notice your energy bills rising. Even the most energy efficient commercial buildings suffer from diminishing energy efficiency.
Over the years, you may notice your energy bills slowly starting the rise. That is because even the most energy efficient commercial buildings do not stay energy efficient forever. Simply put, your building is losing energy all the time. From the moment your facility is built, it starts to deteriorate, losing more and more energy as the years go by.
“Just like human beings, as soon as buildings are born they start to die,” said James Newman of Newman Consulting Group.
Why is My Commercial Building Losing Energy?
Outdated HVAC Equipment
Like your building, HVAC equipment begins to deteriorate as soon as it is installed. And did you know that HVAC systems in commercial buildings account for more than 40% of total energy use? So when your equipment is not functioning properly, your facility’s energy use can skyrocket. The solution: preventive HVAC maintenance.
Lack of Actionable Data
Your biggest weapon in the fight against diminished energy efficiency is actionable data. A lack of such data, meanwhile, makes it almost impossible to gauge building performance and make the necessary tweaks to optimize efficiency and save money.
When Good Intentions Go Wrong
When buildings are not properly or maintained, as much as 30% of the energy used is wasted. This is the very reason you implemented a Building Automation Systems (BAS). These systems allow building owners and property managers to not only easily control mechanical systems, like HVAC, from a single point, but also receive detailed reporting to keep track of energy efficiency and sources of energy loss. This actionable data can be a very important tool in the fight against diminishing energy efficiency. The problem is that some of these systems are just too complicated and they go unused and, thus, are no help at all.
Band-Aid Fixes
They say a stitch in time saves nine, but it really depends on the quality of the stitch. Temporary fixes, often in response to tenant complaints, can sometimes do more long-term harm than good. If you are going to take the time to correct an issue, make sure you take the time to do it right. this will save both time and money in the future.
High Turnover Rates and Inadequate Training
When turnover rates are high, training suffers. And when your maintenance staff is not properly trained, building efficiency suffers. It’s a vicious cycle. When key building personnel leave, they take a lot of knowledge with them.
Occupants Are People (Who Need Training) Too
Training or at least educating building occupants on the limitations of a building can help take a lot of pressure off maintenance staff, minimizing tenant complaints.
Overworked and Overwhelmed
Many times in an effort to save money, building owners will trim their maintenance staff. As a result, the remaining maintenance staff finds itself is understaffed and overwhelmed, meaning things are not handled in a timely manner, not handled correctly, or not handled at all. And commercial building energy efficiency suffers.
Outsourced Facility Maintenance
Crockett Facilities Services, Inc. is an award-winning mechanical contractor servicing Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC. When we manage the maintenance and operations of your buildings, we constantly identify and implement measures that reduce energy usage and improve the operating efficiency of the mechanical and HVAC equipment.
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Plus, as a preventive maintenance customer, you will receive priority service when emergencies arise, ensuring your tenants are comfortable and issues are resolved quickly.
To learn more about how Crockett Facilities Services, Inc. can help improve your Commercial Building Energy Efficiency, please contact CFSI at 202.600.2787 or sales@crockett-facilities.com.
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